Historical Ignorance: Not Just an American Problem

We have commented a number of times on President Obama’s ignorance of American history. Sadly, however, the average American high school student is probably even less knowledgeable about our history than the president. Is the problem of historical amnesia unique to the United States? Apparently not. In the U.K., a new report recommends that “Schools should be free to drop trendy citizenship classes so pupils can learn more about British history.”

It comes after a study last year found that HALF of 18 to 24-year-olds did not know that Nelson led the British to victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. A similar proportion were unaware the Romans built Hadrian’s Wall.

An England in which Lord Nelson has been forgotten is no longer England. And how oblivious do you have to be to walk by Trafalgar Square and not wonder who the guy on the column is? There are reasons to believe that the human race has been getting dumber for some time, and I suspect the trend may be accelerating.